Company Law / Accounting / Auditing

The topic of Company Law, including registration of companies, accounting and auditing, falls under the auspicies of the Ministry of Industries. This includes matters concerning the Company Register and the Register of Annual Accounts, but the registers are operated by the Iceland Internal Revenue and Customs. Here under also falls legislation on certain types of NPOs.

The relevent legislation includes legislation on public limited companies, private limited companies, cooperative soceties, partnerships, non-profit organizations engaged in business activities as well as legislation on accounting, annual accounts and auditors and auditing.

The Act on public limited companies contain provisions on government-owned limited companies and partnerships limited by shares. The Ministry of Industries provides information on the above legislation and issues related to this topic, exemptions from the residency requirements of the public limited companies Act and the private limited companies Act, intervention for calling shareholder meetings in limited companies and special investigations according to the limited companies acts.

The Company Register and the Register of Annual Accounts are operated by the Iceland Revenue and Customs. Forms for applications and notifications to the Company Register can be found at the Register‘s website.

English translation of the relevant legislation:

• Act No 2/1995 on public limited companies
• Act No 138/1994 on private limited companies
• Announcement No 848/2013 respecting general exemptions from the conditions of residence of the limited companie‘s legislation
• Act No  50/2007 respecting partnerships
• Act No 33/1999 respection Self-Governing Institutions Engaging in Business Operations
• Act No 92/2006 respecting European Cooperative Societies
• Act No 26/2004 on European Companies
• Act No 159/1994 on the European Economic Interest Grouping
• Act No 145/1994 on accounting
• Act No 3/2006 on annual accounts
• Act No 92/2019 on auditors and auditing
• Act No 17/2003 on Company Register
• Act No 82/2019 on registration of beneficial owner
• Act No 110/2021 on Non Profit Organisations
• Act No 119/2019 on cross-border Non Profit Organisations